North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum pardons Grace the turkey as Thanksgiving approaches

BISMARCK — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum granted clemency Monday, Nov. 25, to a fair-feathered hen named Grace, allegedly saving the turkey from what could’ve been a fateful demise come Thursday.

Grace flocked to the state Capitol in Bismarck from Fullerton to be a part of the annual, Thanksgiving-spirited event hosted by the North Dakota Turkey Federation.

She was chosen for the gig after successfully dodging the truck that took her compatriots to “their next stop,” where they will be staged to join people for Thanksgiving in a “different way,” according to Burgum.

President George W. Bush was the first president to officially pardon a turkey, according to

White House Archives,

but Burgum said the tradition has been a part of North Dakota’s culture since the 1970s when Gov. Art Link was in office.

North Dakota produces around

1 million turkeys

every year. That’s 39 million fewer than Minnesota —

the national leader

in turkey production.

The Turkey Federation will donate 32 frozen turkeys, split evenly between the Heaven’s Helpers Soup Cafe and the Abused Adult Resource Center in Bismarck.

Michelle Erickson,

Abused Adults Resource Center

executive director, said the center is about 2,000 shelter bed nights ahead of where the center was last year — a measure that refers to a single night a person spends sleeping in a bed provided by a shelter.

“The staff is overwhelmed, to say the least,” Erickson said. “Donations like this continually help us out and help our clients.”

Heaven Helpers Soup Cafe

founder and Director Mike Meyer said he serves upwards of 350 people daily— approximately a quarter of whom he says are experiencing homelessness.

“Our numbers have really been up as costs go up,” he said.

Those interested in donating or volunteering with either of the nonprofit organizations can find more information at

soupcafe.org

or

www.abusedadultresourcecenter.com/get-involved.